


Debts of Honour

by Trickster32



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Bottom Severus Snape, Courting Rituals, F/M, Gen, Good Slytherins, Life Debt, M/M, Older Man/Younger Man, Shy Severus Snape, Top Tom Riddle, Underage - Freeform, m-preg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-08
Updated: 2019-09-19
Packaged: 2019-10-24 14:06:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,831
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17705678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trickster32/pseuds/Trickster32
Summary: What would happen if Severus saved at the start of 5th year his whole Potions class, because of James' and Sirius' stupidity. He got badly hurt in the backlash of the explosion and had been brought to St. Mungo's. How would the class deal with the knowledge that they now owe a life debt to the Slytherin outcast?





	1. The Creating of a Life Debt

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Genuka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Genuka/gifts), [ThePhoenixandTheDragon](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThePhoenixandTheDragon/gifts), [CrazyGlitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrazyGlitch/gifts), [PiffyEQ](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PiffyEQ/gifts), [KaseyTrue](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KaseyTrue/gifts), [Lizzybeth74](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lizzybeth74/gifts), [elvirakitties](https://archiveofourown.org/users/elvirakitties/gifts), [Grooot](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Grooot/gifts), [MyWitch](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MyWitch/gifts), [Sugahhuney](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sugahhuney/gifts), [PotionsChaos](https://archiveofourown.org/users/PotionsChaos/gifts), [Misty123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Misty123/gifts), [pekeleke](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pekeleke/gifts), [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Many thanks to my beta Lizzybeth74 - and Happy Birthday to you! XD

_**The Creating of a Life Debt** _

 

5th September 1974 – They were in the first potions lesson of the new school year and it seemed like many of their classmates had lost the ability to read or to use their common sense while brewing potions. That could be the only way to explain the idiocy of James Potter and Sirius Black, who had somehow managed to grab the wrong ingredients from the student’s stores as they were working on brewing a standard burn salve.

 

Severus and Lily were almost finished with their potions because, once again, Severus used his own adaptations and he had taught Lily, who preferred to brew following Professor Slughorn’s method, well. Severus had already reduced the heat under his cauldron and started to clean his work space. Even though he had begun cleaning up and his potion was nearly finished, Severus kept a strong shield up around his work station, to avoid anyone sabotaging his potions. It was one of a few shields he could perform using wandless magic– and he had drilled Lily mercilessly until she could concentrate and maintain her own shield, even at a time when somewhere in class a cauldron melted or exploded.

 

Checking the cauldron again, Severus noticed that his burn salve was finished, so  —  dousing the heat, Severus lifted his hand to call the professor over while carefully filling a vial with his potion. If Slughorn deemed his potion acceptable, then he would empty the cauldron into numerous vials so that he would have enough to get rid of some of the evidence of his prior abuse at his father’s hands. It was the only remedy he had found that was strong enough to remove the scars from cigarette burns from his limbs.

 

That was another secret he could not share with Lily, or most people really. She didn’t know anything about his previous home life…well, except the bare necessities, and Severus would do anything for it to stay that way. He would not be able to endure her pity, nor did he want to be responsible for making her cry. And Lilly would cry if she saw all the scars caused by Tobias’ fury and cruelty.

* * *

 

Professor Slughorn walked over and tested the salve before marking an ‘O’ for Severus in his notebook. He patted Severus’ shoulder and informed him that his potion was good enough for the hospital wing and asked if Severus would please fill at least ten vials with his potion for Poppy, while Slughorn took one for his own stores.

 

Severus grimaced as he had plans for that salve, but he obeyed his professor. He could always brew more since he knew that his modified recipe worked, and that was enough for the young Slytherin. Severus filled the requested vials and sealed them, before continuing to clean his workstation. This was the moment when the young Slytherin looked up and his eyes landed on the mishmash ingredients on Potter and Black’s workstation, and Severus lost his last bit of colour.

 

Those dunderheads had not just grabbed the wrong ingredients  — aren’t they able to read?! Severus mind screamed. In addition to getting the wrong ingredients, they were preparing them incorrectly. If they mixed those into the boiling mixture as they were preparing to do, it would explode and harm the whole class. Not only was their concoction explosive, but it also looked to be very acidic.

* * *

 

Without considering the consequences, Severus drew his wand and cast the strongest protection shield he knew for such problems around Professor Slughorn and the other students, before tackling Black and Potter. It worked… too well for them, but Severus had still been right in front of the exploding cauldron and he got a direct hit  — his own shield disappeared, as did all his clothes due to the acidic mixture and the of fumes and potion. Finally, the lithe Slytherin got thrown directly into Professor Slughorn’s desk.

 

Gasping in shock at the scene, Professor Slughorn belatedly pulled out his own wand to contain the exploded potion under a strong stasis field, as was the procedure demanded by the Potions Guild for such an occurrence. The professor then sent a Patronus to Poppy, urgently demanding her presence in the Potions class room.

 

Potter and Black didn’t really understand what had happened, not even as they saw the unconscious Slytherin lying in front of Slughorn’s desk. Lily had knelt beside him, crying silently, when she realised how much her best friend had to suffer at home. Due to him being naked, she finally saw Severus’ scars, though she realized that those scars were most likely only a small part of the story. Lilly felt like her heart would break as she began to realise the truth.

* * *

 

Poppy stormed into the room and she wasn’t alone. Minerva had been with her since she had a free slot during this hour. Together they conjured a robe to lay over Severus and transfigured a stretcher and placed the injured boy on it.

 

“I can’t heal him here, Minerva, there is too much damage. He needs to be taken to St. Mungo’s. We also need to collect the memories of the students and Professor Slughorn in order to learn how this fiasco could have happened. But I can already tell you that they are very lucky that nothing more happened, because from the way things look, they all could have died if young Mr. Snape had reacted one minute later”, said Poppy seriously.

 

“Does that mean that they all owe him their lives, Poppy?”, asked Minerva flabbergasted.

 

“That is exactly what it means, Minerva. I told you and the others time and time again that Severus is a good person. It is quite overdue that you lot took off your blinders regarding Severus, but that is not what is important right now”, Poppy responded. “We need to call for help from St. Mungo’s and then someone has to inform his legal guardians.”

 

“Er, Madame Pomfrey”, Evan interrupted quietly, “Severus has been living with the Malfoys since last Yule. I don’t know why, but Lord Malfoy had been adamant, at the time, about the necessity of becoming his new guardian.”

 

“It doesn’t matter now, but thank you for your information”, Minerva answered for Poppy. “We need to get him to St. Mungo’s and then we need to figure out how this could have happened. But all of you should be very grateful that Mr. Snape acted to protect your lives when he did. Without his actions you would all have died in that explosion!”

* * *

 

Poppy sent her Patronus to St. Mungo’s while Minerva sent her own to Malfoy Manor to inform Lord Malfoy about the accident. This day would change the course of history, as never before had one single action resulted in  **50 life debts owed to a single person** . Both women were convinced that Albus would not like the results of this day at all, but there was nothing he could do to stop it. Magic simply would not allow it.

 

The healers arrived with their own stretcher and carefully placed the injured boy on it. They then used their emergency portkey to take them to the surgical area of St. Mungo’s. Their scans had shown that at least one  surgery would be needed to ensure that Severus would wake up again.

 

Both the Slytherins and the Gryffindors waited until Minerva ordered them back to their common room  — none of them would need to go to class for the rest of the day. But they were told that they should be ready to be interviewed about the accident at any time. Meals would be served in the common rooms for both houses.

 

“When will we be allowed to visit Severus, Professor?”, Avery asked Minerva politely. “We want to see how he is doing, and we want to thank him for saving our lives.”

 

Minerva smiled sadly at them and replied, “I do not know at this time. But I will go to St. Mungo’s and speak with his healers about it. Until then, I want you all to promise that none of you will speak or even write to anyone about what has happened here today. Should you disobey me, I will be very displeased and punish the offenders harshly. You have been warned!”

 

Professor Slughorn coughed and told them all to go back to their common rooms. Homework would be ten inches about lab safety and potions accident prevention. The homework was set to be due the next morning at breakfast.

* * *

 

The students left the Potions classroom with their book bags in their hands, quietly murmuring to each other about what had happened. Evan made sure to grab Severus’ satchel and would place it on Severus’ bed when he got back to the Slytherin dormitory. It was the least he could do for his friend. He hoped that Severus would soon be feeling better and return to Hogwarts. Things would not be the same without him.

 

And then Evan remembered something else. Severus was being courted by an older man  — something which had begun after he had moved in with the Malfoys. There may even be an old marriage contract between their families, but the older man had still decided to court Severus according to their traditions. After all, it was only fair in his opinion. Severus deserved to be treated much better than he was in the past. When his suitor found out what happened…well, that would not end well for any of them. It was too bad that someone would need to inform him, despite Professor  McGonnagall’s warning to keep quiet about it, or the reaction would be even worse. The suitor’s temper was legendary among the Slytherin families.

 

Marvolo, Severus’ suitor, had offered to hire the best tutors available should Severus decide that he did not want to return to Hogwarts after passing his OWLs, but Severus had not indicated that he would accept or reject this courting gift. Even though Evan would miss his friend, he felt that Severus would benefit far more from having excellent tutors, than staying at Hogwarts. Especially after having to put up with the abuse from the Marauders and neglect from most of the professors.

 

Come what may, they would inform Lucius about the accident and ask him to inform Marvolo. Hopefully they would not need to wait long for Severus to wake up again. A short nod to Mulciber indicated that they would talk later about it. It was time to devise a strategy for how they would handle certain Gryffindors. They really could not wait to see the student’s reaction once the events of that morning got around, particularly the reaction of the Marauders, after the shock wore off. Honestly, Evan and his friends would enjoy holding the fact that the Marauders now owed their lives to Severus over their heads. They wondered if the Marauders would still dare to behave like they were Merlin’s gift to mankind after it got around school that a  _slimy Slytherin_ , one who they had bullied relentlessly,  had to save their pathetic lives.


	2. Informing the Lords

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Malfoys, Prince and Severus' suitor were informed about the incident at Hogwarts, while Minerva McGonnagal takes her house to task for the incident.

Hadrian Marvolo Slytherin-Peverell, formerly known as Tom Marvolo Riddle Jr., had spent the day with his old friend Abraxas Severus Malfoy and his godson Lucius Abraxas Malfoy. Officially it was to reconnect with his old friends, unofficially they wanted to talk about the courting contract between Marvolo and Abraxas’ young ward Severus. The Slytherin Lord had been smitten with the young student since their first official meeting during one of the Yule festivities. Since then, his affection had steadily grown.

 

Abraxas had been extremely protective of the young Slytherin. Especially after learning that Severus was one of the rare submissive male bearers. His protective behaviour was understandable because many would try to take advantage of Severus. He even insisted that his friend Marvolo – Voldemort to his Knights – would have to wait until Severus was 14 years old to officially begin courting his young shy prince.

 

The sly old fox had known that Marvolo couldn’t deny his attraction to Severus nor could he escape Abraxas’ rules, but honestly, did Abraxas have to use Walburga Black and Lady Honoria Prince as chaperones when he wanted to meet in public with his shy, young, prospective lover? Why couldn’t he have chosen Cassiopeia, she at least liked him. And she wouldn’t force the couple to maintain such a large distance between themselves.

 

With the help of the Goblins, Marvolo had not only been able to claim his legal titles, but by naming a proxy, they had ensured that Albus Dumbledore would not know that the orphan he had shunned and badmouthed over the last few decades had received his wealth and his titles. Also unknown to the old coot, was the fact that Abraxas had ensured that Lord Prince would reconcile with Severus, and accept him as his heir, while agreeing that Severus would be living with the Malfoys. The young Prince got the chance to finally learn more about his maternal family, while getting the required heir training. And Mathias Prince, the younger Half-brother of his grandfather had even promised that he would personally deal with Eileen and Tobias as a wedding gift for the young couple.

 

Neither of their families had a problem with Marvolo being more than 30 years older than Severus. Since Marvolo would be the head of their household, it was even considered a good thing as Severus could focus on his career and their family, while Marvolo would deal with politics and business.

* * *

 

The sudden appearance of a patronus shocked them. Even more so after they heard the message, “potions accident, badly hurt, St. Mungo’s”, however, even shocked as they all were, they sprang into action. Lucius would be informing Lord and Lady Prince, while Marvolo and Abraxas would floo directly to St. Mungo’s. Should it be necessary, they would also go to Hogwarts for answers as to what happened, before bringing the DMLE and the Board of Governors into their investigations.

 

A potions accident during an OWL-course was bad news, as the students would be studying the more volatile potions and a simple mistake could often result in dangerous consequences. But who was responsible this time? They all knew how extremely careful Severus was when working with Potions. Never once did his attention wander, nor was he ever unprepared for potential dangers. There was yet more bad news when they learned that Severus had to be put into an enchanted sleep and that the healer was even considering surgery…well, things were not looking good at all.

* * *

 

Marvolo had growled that he wanted the names of the culprits. They would pay for making his beloved suffer. At this point, he was considering whether he wanted them handed over to the DMLE for prosecution – or if he would feed his own darkness by taking justice into his own hands.

 

Unsurprisingly the second course of action had been vetoed by everyone else, much to his dismay. Somehow, he managed to keep an iron hold on his temper, although he knew that he would have to blast a few training dummies to pieces at some point, to put himself into a better mood.

 

But this incident proved, once more, that Hogwarts had become too dangerous for his young lover. Brilliant and stubborn  —  a dangerous combination. But perhaps this time Fortuna would smile on them and convince Severus to opt for private tutors instead of staying even one day longer at Hogwarts.

 

Eileen should have given him another middle name – Pertinax would have suited him so much better. What had she been thinking of, naming Severus after the brutish muggle she ran off with  — and why did she even stay after he started to beat them both? It didn’t make any sense for the young Lord Slytherin.

* * *

In Gryffindor tower the mood was dangerous. The Marauders, and especially James and Sirius wanted to start a mutiny. Anything would be better than to admit to their idiocy in choosing the wrong ingredients. To owe Snivellus a life debt, oh, what a disgrace. Peter had timidly asked what would happen to them if Severus did not wake up again? Could it cost them their magic? The whole thing was impossible for them to comprehend and they hoped it wouldn’t come true.

 

Not one of them would be able to survive in the Muggle World. They had no education of it, no knowledge of the rules nor did they have any idea of what was necessary to blend in. Their fear steadily increased until their head of house entered the common room and all eyes fell on her.

 

“Fifth years to me!”, called Professor McGonagall.

 

It took some time, but finally all fifth year Gryffindors stood before her, awaiting their judgment.

* * *

“I have never been so disappointed in my students”, McGonagall began. “You could have been killed because of your own idiocy! Potions are not a toy or something to be trifled with. The life debt you all owe Mr. Snape for his selfless action has been confirmed and archived by the Department of Mysteries. The Ancient and Noble House of Prince, to whom Mr. Snape belongs, is most displeased with our school and has demanded retribution on his behalf. That Mr. Snape is the grandson and heir of Lord Prince, is an open secret in Slytherin House. Lord Prince has already submitted a message to the board of Governors and to the staff, that due to the injuries suffered by Mr. Snape, the culprits responsible for the explosion…and all their future children…will become slaves of House Prince. The families will remain enslaved until their grandchildren have been born. If Mr. Snape does not wake from his coma, the culprits will also be expelled from Hogwarts!”, Minerva icily informed them. 

 

“WHAT? They can’t do that!”, screamed Sirius before he was silenced by Remus.

 

"You will find, Mr. Black, that they can. You should hope and pray that Mr. Snape awakens and regains his health. Tomorrow morning, Mathias Prince will come to Hogwarts and perform the enslavement ritual on the culprits. Give me your wands, gentlemen, they are being confiscated until the end of the ceremony. You will be confined to Gryffindor Tower. Neither of you will be able to leave the tower until I have released you from the confinement spell. You will be sitting your OWLs this year. Neither of you are children any longer, and it is time that you prove yourself to be capable adults or face the consequences. You should be glad that Lord Prince decided against requesting that the two of you be prosecuted or you could be facing Azkaban. This is not a game, gentlemen. Your classmates could have died because of your carelessness…and one of your classmates may still die.”

* * *

Silently summoning their wands and confining the fuming Marauders to Gryffindor Tower, Minerva turned around and prepared to leave. Before she exited, she warned them that any more persecution of the members of the Slytherin House would result in dire consequences.


	3. How to Leave a Very Bad First Impression

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How to Leave a Very Bad First Impression aka the first meeting between Severus and Marvolo...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🥳🥳🥳 Three cheers for my beta "Lizzybeth74"🤑🤑🤑  
> Thanks to her support and assistance you'll be getting new chapters, today... ;3
> 
> A/N: This chapter contains a flashback of the first unofficial encounter between Severus and Marvolo at the Malfoys, before they start to court. It also explains why the families chose Walburga Black and Honoria Prince as chaperones for the young lovers.
> 
> Severus had been 14 years old at the time, while Marvolo would be celebrating his 47th birthday a few days later, where Severus would attend as one of the guests of honour. Maybe Marvolo should have been more careful to avoid Murphy’s Law…

It had not been easy, but after some negotiations with the healer and an update on Severus’ current medical status, it was decided that Severus would be kept in an enchanted sleep through the night. When morning came, a quick health scan would be performed to find out if surgery was needed. At this point, Severus was too weak to consider surgery.

 

A potions accident is not something to be taken lightly. After learning that he had been harmed while saving the lives of his classmates, Severus’ standing with the staff of St. Mungo increased substantially. Especially after learning that he was planning to become a Potions Master and go into potions research.

 

A quiet debate later resulted in allowing two of the men to stay with Severus during the night – his betrothed, Marvolo and his foster brother Lucius. But this minor victory did not mean that Marvolo would be allowed to sleep in the next bed to Severus. Marvolo had to sleep in the bed next to the door, while Lucius lay between them in order to maintain appropriate conduct during the courting process. Lucius had received permission by the chaperones and Severus’ grandfather to use a full body-bind on Marvolo, should he attempt to move too close to Severus without permission.

 

Grumbling Marvolo agreed to it. Why did they still have to punish him for a mere accident, that happened last year? He had not tried to grope Severus at all, and yes, he knew how it had looked as the house elves had summoned the adults and the other teenagers to the library in Malfoy Manor.

* * *

_**Flashback — 21th December 1974** _

 

_Severus had received permission to spend the Yule holidays of 1974 with the Malfoys in Wiltshire. Ever since his maternal grandparents won custody of him, his life had improved a lot. He was finally being fed properly, had clothes that suited him, they were not too small or large and not full of holes, and he was taken care of the way his parents should have been doing._

 

_Learning was encouraged, and his interests in the Dark Arts, Spell crafting and Potions were not dismissed, but were supported by his new family. His great-uncle Mathias Prince and his godfather Lord Abraxas Malfoy had already started to teach him proper duelling rules and techniques. Even the attacks by the vexing Marauders had lessened after Lord Prince had made public the fact that Severus is his heir. Lord Prince’s solicitor submitted dire a warning to those toe-rags, that they behave._

 

_It had been a surprise, and not a good one, that Lily didn’t seem to be happy about his new life, and Severus couldn’t understand her reservations. For the first time in his life, he had adults who cared about him, who supported and encouraged him to follow his dreams and who accepted him as an individual._

 

_The physical he’d had to undergo had been uncomfortable but was a necessity. Especially after learning that he was able to bear children – the result of a rare gene, that was once common in the Prince family. This was a shock to Severus and his new caretakers because rumour had it that only a true pureblood could inherit the gene._

 

_But his mother would have told him if his sire was a pureblood. She wouldn’t have lied about his heritage, or would she? Eileen hadn’t even tried to contact him after the magical court in Britain had decided that his maternal grandparents should gain custody of him. It had hurt that she did not seem to care, but maybe it was for the best._

* * *

_Looking up, Severus felt a blush creeping up his face, as a very handsome and powerful wizard entered the library. Automatically standing up to greet him politely, Severus gasped in shock as the stranger stumbled over the carpet, and both crashed to the floor._

 

_Too add even more humiliation to the current situation, Severus felt his own cock harden, and the stiff prick of the stranger rubbing against it even through the layers of his clothing. It was so embarrassing for Severus and he wondered why fate seemed to hate him so much._

 

_The young teen closed his eyes to try and prevent the tears from running down his face and turned his head the other way. Marvolo honestly wasn’t faring much better. If this would have happened to anyone else, it would be very funny, but this was humiliating and to make it even worse the constant friction would sooner or later result in an unwanted orgasm in his trousers. Something he had not experienced in years. Not to mention what the reactions would be if anyone found them in this indecent position. But neither he, nor the shy teenager beneath him were able to free themselves and get up._

 

_Normally, given his reaction to the boy, he would have inquired after the boy’s name, age and interests, but this was not possible at that moment. Marvolo felt unexpectedly drawn to the teen and could easily imagine stealing a kiss or two. What was happening to him? He had never felt like this before. He felt like he wanted to keep the teenager in his arms forever. Shockingly, a sprig of mistletoe suddenly appeared above them. Seeing this, Marvolo did not hold back any longer, and he started softly caressing the face of the unknown teenager beneath him. He wiped away a few stray tears, before kissing the shocked boy slowly and deeply._

 

_Severus gasped. This was his first kiss, and because he is a true Slytherin, Slytherin’s heir didn’t waste any time conquering the delicious mouth of this unknown treasure, with his tongue. Automatically following the movements of the older male, Severus’ eyes closed again, and he submitted to the stranger, who released his mouth only to whisper sweet nonsense in his ear._

 

_Marvolo’s magic sang as soon as contact was established between them. Yes, this was it. No matter what, he needed to keep this special boy. Marvolo vowed to himself that he would cherish him for the rest of their lives._

* * *

_Alas, as these things tend to happen, this was the moment that the door was flung open and not only did house elves enter the library, but Lord Malfoy and his son and heir, Lucius rushed into the room. Last, but not least Walburga Black and Honoria Prince walked in and that’s when things to a drastic turn._

 

_A shriek brought man and boy back to reality, as Walburga’s magic flung Heir Slytherin to the other side of the library. Marvolo’s fall was thankfully stopped by the house elves, while Severus lay heavily breathing, with kiss-swollen lips and a dazed look upon his face, on the floor._

 

“ _Kreacher, you will accompany Heir Prince to his quarters and inform our family healer of what has transpired here. In the meantime, a serious talk is in order with Lord Slytherin, gentlemen”, Walburga ordered, quickly taking charge of things. She really did not like that Severus did not respond in any way to their appearance in the Malfoy family library._

 

“ _Kreacher will obey, Mistress and guard the young Master”, Kreacher replied as he carefully used his elven magic on the young Slytherin so that he would not be startled._

 

“ _Let us have a little talk, Marvolo”, Walburga started. It was clear that she was quite displeased. “How_ dare _you? He is still innocent of our ways, and you are old enough to be his father!”, screamed Walburga, thankfully after Abraxas had used a strong privacy and silencing ward on the library._

 

_Marvolo gulped. It seemed as if this would be an extremely long day. Very slowly breathing in and out a few times, the Dark Lord tried to control himself before readying himself for battle. It did not matter in the least that he still did not know the name of the mysterious teenager yet. The boy belonged to him and nobody else would stop him from claiming his prince._

_**End of Flashback** _

* * *

Lucius hid a smirk. At times his godfather could be so hilarious. But he still wondered who could have set up that prank last year. Normally only dark families attended the Yule Ball hosted by the Malfoy family. And the house elves had strict orders to follow any invisible guest around, so the culprit remained a mystery.

 

Still, he had to admit that Marvolo and Severus would make a striking couple. And he also knew that Marvolo would protect Severus with his life. They really had been lucky that nobody, neither the Ministry or the old coot…or worse radicals from the light side, had thus far discovered that Severus is a male bearer. Otherwise, the young Malfoy heir knew for certain that they would have already lost Severus forever.

 

Thanks to Lords Prince, Slytherin and Malfoy, this information had been classified and sealed. Only blood relatives had the right to the most crucial information in Severus’ medical files, and only after the three lords had independently, and without being compelled in any way, agreed that a third party could read it.

 

But why did he have a feeling that something bad was going to happen? Surely nobody would dare to ignore the seals and wishes of the family that was involved, or would they? Lucius sighed, maybe he needed to help his godfather with convincing his stubborn little foster-brother not to return to Hogwarts or if he felt that he must return, that he would only return with a specialised bodyguard.

 

Convincing Severus would be the true problem, Lucius had rarely met someone who was more stubborn than his young Slytherin brother. Maybe they should have named him Pertinax, instead of Sebastian. But Sebastian had been an old family name, the last Prince who had received his mastery in Potions, Spell crafting and Defense Against the Dark Arts, before he turned twenty-five years old.

* * *

Severus had already declared that he would obtain them before he was twenty years old. And only afterwards would he be willing to bond or even consider children. Marvolo supported his young lover, even if it was rare that he was able to do more with Severus, than stealing a kiss or two, now and then. No, the chaperones, and their elvish assistants were much too proper to allow a tryst or two.

 

It didn’t matter. Marvolo enjoyed a good challenge, and it would be worth it when Severus submitted to him totally, along with accepting a collar, which would tell the world that he had already been claimed. Even if the collar would be hidden beneath a traditionally high shirt collar most of the time, it was good enough that Marvolo would know that it was there.

 

For Lord Slytherin it only meant that his young lover trusted him and enjoyed the obvious ways that Marvolo marked his territory. It hadn’t really been unusual to see him jealously eyeing the dance floor when Severus had to dance with other guests of the Malfoys during the social season. There was a reason why Marvolo had to give up his wand – exactly like all the other guests when entering the ball room, and didn’t that hurt most, but for Severus, Marvolo would be willing to sacrifice everything just to see Severus happy and smiling.


	4. The Enslavement Ritual

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 🥳🥳🥳 Three cheers for my beta "Lizzybeth74"🤑🤑🤑  
> Thanks to her support and assistance you'll be getting new chapters, today... ;3
> 
> A/N: Warning – It’s just a dream, but yes, the old man is totally insane and wouldn’t hesitate to act on his greed if it meant that he would gain full control over a submissive male bearer.

At 7:00pm, Minerva led the Gryffindors to the Great Hall. Sirius and James had been bound, their wands were in the custody of their Head of House, and they had been silenced. Being hexed silent - on top of their looming punishment, was not even enough to stop the duo from inwardly growling about their predicament.

 

Dumbledore tried to stop the punishment, of course, but he was unsuccessful. Alastor Moody was to supervise the ritual for the DMLE and had silenced the Headmaster and made it clear that that he would not hesitate to arrest him, should he consider interfering in any way.

* * *

Mathias Prince was already waiting for the miscreants. He was glaring at them with such a cold look that the majority of the students and staff started whispering warming charms. He could imagine a lot of things he would prefer to be doing instead of doling out discipline to the two spoiled brats. At least Honoria had assured him that they would send him a message, as soon as Severus woke up.

 

Both teenagers shivered in fear. The wizard in front of them emitted a powerful aura of coldness, that seemed to attach to their souls and not let go. “Kneel”, Mathias hissed, and for once the rebellious boys obeyed, shivering even more as a non-verbal spell removed their robes and shirt. They gulped and their eyes widened when the dark wizard removed a black ritual knife from his belt.

 

“If I were you, I wouldn’t move or the cuts I am about to make could go deeper than intended. That would be a real pity, don’t you agree boys?”, Mathias stated, smirking maliciously. “You are very lucky in your punishment. In the old days, you would have been exiled for life from all magical shores. But fortunately for you, we are more merciful now. You are about to be made slaves of the Ancient and Noble House of Prince. Depending on your behaviour, this may also include your children and grandchildren. The only way to prevent that from happening is if you two utter morons manage to gain the forgiveness of my beloved great-nephew and you impress our family enough to release you from your punishment.”

 

With a steady hand, Mathias drew three runes on the boy’s collarbones before removing his signet ring from his pocket. After heating it up with a non-verbal spell, Mathias branded them with the Prince family crest.

 

“Your own actions have shown that this is necessary, boys. Attacking your godbrother is despicable, and you should be glad that the Black Family charter allowed this sort of retribution and atonement. Otherwise, it would be life-long service in the Goblin mines, or you would be used as test subjects for new Goblin wards. I have heard that they can be very creative and quite nasty. It was their wards, after all, that have prevented anyone from discovering or entering the _**Forbidden Countries**_ on a whim. It really is a beautiful piece of work”, Mathias informed them, as he cut his own finger to mix Prince blood into the runes. This would not only strengthen the bond between slave and master, but also make it impossible for the slaves to escape their destiny.

* * *

Sirius had paled –  _godbrother, Snivellus was his godbrother? No, that could not be true, could it? But why would his mother_ _—_ _or was it his father, accept a half-blood as godchild_ ?

 

“Did it hurt?” Mathias mocked when he noticed Sirius frown. “That frown does not look good on you slave”, Mathias continued as he cleaned the ritual knife, and the fresh cuts on their collarbones. He whistled, summoning a Prince house elf, who held two new tunics that were traditionally worn by slaves of their household who had not gained the trust of their masters.

 

“Wait — you can’t owe a life debt to family!”, Sirius yelled.

 

“You are incorrect, slave. There _have_ been instances where Magic itself decided that the fallout from acts committed against a family member had been so great, that it had to be punished harshly. Such is the case for you and your crony. You can thank your lucky stars, however, that Lady Magic did not destroy your magical cores for your idiocy. It would have been within her rights to do so. But in her eyes, you are both still but thoughtless children. Take this as your final warning. Let us see if the two of you are capable of learning.”

 

Stepping back, Mathias turned around. He had a gleam in his eyes made the two boys start shivering again. They knew that the gleam hinted at the fact that things didn’t look good for them.

* * *

“Let us see if the ritual worked as it should have”, Mathias said with a smirk apparent in his voice. “Turn around three times where you stand, as fast as you can while humming _London Bridge is falling down.”_ At once, the compulsion to obey worked. James and Sirius made complete clowns of themselves in front of the crowd before Mathias allowed them to kneel on the floor. Mathias then issued the next of many orders that would come over the next few years, “You will graduate with _top scores_ on your NEWTs. In addition, you will no longer be able to insult or to prank anyone, and you will hand over all items you have used in the past to hurt or harm your classmates and staff members.”

 

“You two will be living with me until I see fit to send you to Prince Hall after your training is complete. Now, get up boys…we will go home since I need to add you two to the wards. It would be a pity, after all, if you are constantly getting zapped by them during your service, wouldn’t you agree?”, the dark wizard chuckled.

 

“When will we see them again?”, Minerva asked nervously. She may be very angry at Sirius and James’ thoughtlessness, but they were still her cubs.

 

“It depends on the boys Minerva”, Mathias shrugged carelessly. “You may see them after Yule…or after Ostara. It really is up to them. Good behaviour will increase their chances to return to Hogwarts quickly. And there is no need to worry about their education, my dear. They will most certainly be keeping up with their studies. You know how important knowledge is for my family”, Mathias replied. The elf then followed his master’s orders and transported the teenagers to Prince Cottage.

* * *

Moody growled, “I’ll be leaving as well, Albus. Remember that you are on probation for allowing the Marauders so much leeway with bullying and other atrocious behaviour. Should anything else happen during your probation, you will not only lose your pension and your position as Headmaster, you will also have to stand trial in front of the whole Wizengamot.”

 

“But they are just boys, Alastor, these were just harmless pranks. Why are you treating them and me like this?”, Albus asked, seemingly completely baffled at being called to account for his behaviour.

 

“Oh no, not this again. Magic is not a toy, Albus! Just reading the detention records was enough to make some of us sick. Their behaviour should have been stopped during the first semester at Hogwarts. They should not have been encouraged by the Headmaster - of all people, in malicious pranking and bullying. To make matters worse, you never even informed their guardians about their wickedness. Instead, you decreased the punishments the other professors attempted to give or eliminated them altogether as you saw fit. How could you, Albus? Why did you?”, Moody growled. He was extremely upset and let down by the things he found out about Dumbledore.

 

“Alastor really, they are just boys. They didn’t mean any harm”, Dumbledore insisted, defending his decisions.

 

“You just don’t get it. Maybe you should not continue as Hogwarts’ Headmaster. You have messed up big time. Not only have you managed to anger one of Hogwarts’ heirs – which, believe me, is bad enough, but you have also almost successfully turned the Prince family against Britain. Lord Prince is not a man who forgives easily, he can hold a grudge for a long time. And he is not a fool. It is quite possible that he will send someone to really take a closer look at your past. Should that happen, well, let’s just pray that you do not have any skeletons lying around, or he will end you”, Moody warned the Headmaster.

* * *

Mathias smirked knowing that he was about to ruin Dumbledore’s day even more. “I have a magical restraining order here, for Albus Dumbledore. It states that he is not allowed to meet, speak with or spend even a few minutes alone with my Great-nephew Severus. To ensure that this order is followed, a few precautions have been put into place by my family that will be revealed when the time is right. In addition, on behalf of Lord Slytherin who is in a courtship with Heir Prince, the control over Slytherin’s part of the school and wards will be handed over to the Deputy and to the Slytherin Head of House for the next ten years. Both will visit Gringotts regularly for a thorough medical check-up and a purge to ensure that they are not being compelled or hexed to behave against Hogwarts itself, or its students. This testing will be paid for by Gringotts. If the goblins find anything that would indicate foul play on your side, Headmaster, you will not be facing the Wizengamot, but a full trial in the Goblin court. This is your only warning. You will stay away from my family…especially Severus, or we will take our pleasure in dealing with you once and for all”, Mathias coldly informed him before leaving for Prince Hall.

 

Dumbledore was seething. _How dare they threaten me – the Great Albus Dumbledore? What did they have to hide? I will find it out what they are planning. It might be necessary to remove young Severus from their influence so that I can make him see reason. Yes…that will be for the best. But where would I be able to hide the shy Slytherin?_ _Perhaps Nurmengard? Maybe in his and Gellert’s old private Master rooms. It was only accessible for the two of them, and they were hidden with blood wards._

 

Dumbledore needed to figure out why young Severus was so important to the Princes and to Tom. He also needed to figure out how Tom had even received his inheritance. He should have been going mad and turning into a Dark Lord - not be acknowledged as one of the Hogwarts’ heirs. But Tom had made a mistake. His courting Severus  ~~ Snape  ~~ Prince would give Albus the _perfect_ opportunity to end Tom and once more be acknowledged as the Greatest Wizard since Merlin.

* * *

“If you would excuse me, my dears, I seem to have forgotten some paperwork that needed to be done. Please eat and drink, all will be well — this is just a small misunderstanding”, Albus said, smiling cheerfully.

 

The only paperwork he was interested in at the moment, was taking a closer look into the medical files of the young Slytherin. Even though Poppy’s files may not contain everything he needed to know, he knew that he could always sneak into Gringotts and St. Mungo’s, at a later date to obtain more information. He had spies in both locations who would do anything and everything for him. All he needed to do was ask.

 

Maliciously chuckling to himself, Albus daydreamed of successfully whisking the shy teenager away to Nurmengard, without his enemies any wiser. After looking through Poppy’s files, he had discovered just why Severus was so important to Tom and the Prince family, and he started to scheme. He drank an entire vial of Liquid Dreams and lounged on his bed. There was no one around who would dare to accuse him of not doing his duty after all. His bedchamber only had portraits that were bound to him. He deserved this pleasure and could certainly afford to indulge himself.

 

None of the sheeple realised that portraits could be bound one’s will, one only needed to know the correct spells and have the correct potions. Starting to feel the effects of the potion he had just consumed, a bright, evil grin etched itself onto Dumbledore’s face.  _This is going to be delicious._

* * *

_Cackling madly, Dumbledore dragged his precious prisoner to the hidden chambers in Nurmengard. Who cared that he had lost his positions to those self-righteous upstarts? He possessed the most valuable treasure of all in his very hands - a virginal male bearer. And by Jove, he would ensure that nobody except himself would defile this rare creature._

 

“ _Resistance is futile, my dear boy. Accept your fate or learn to fear me, I will get what I want in the end. And you will be such a good little boy for me, Severus, or I will punish you”, the geriatric wizard growled._

 

_After reaching the chamber, a small spell was used to remove all clothing from the body of his prey. Severus’ wand had already been lost during the struggle when Severus had fruitlessly tried to stop the crazed ex-headmaster from abducting him. Tears gleamed on Severus’ cheeks, but this only seemed to delight Dumbledore even more, as he shamelessly and indecently caressed his prisoner. Having removed his own clothes automatically via spell as soon as he set his foot in his chambers, Albus readied the Death Stick to cast the necessary binding spells on his prey. Never before had Albus felt so alive._

 

“ _You are much too tense my sweet boy. You do not need to worry. I know just how to make you relax. I will make you feel so good that you will be begging me for more”, the lunatic chuckled. He was thoroughly enjoying the naked fear in Severus’ eyes._

 

“ _You will never again leave these rooms, my sweet shy boy. Daddy will not allow it, and who knows_ _—_ _maybe you will even get another playmate…then you will have two Daddies and you will be our little prince. You will be a good little boy for us. Did you really believe that I would not figure out your secret Severus? We will have so much fun together and you will never be free of me, or my shade. That is a promise that I intend to keep.”_

* * *

Dumbledore was abruptly kicked out of his dream, but he still smiled happily. This was unexpected, but oh so satisfying. Male bearers were thought to have been extinct nowadays. Finding a  _submissive male bearer_ _—_ and one ready to be claimed and bred, just in his reach, was proof  —  to Dumbledore’s crazed mind, that a higher power was on his side.

 

“ _When the time is right, I’ll grab him_ _—_ _well, my spies at St. Mungo’s will keep me informed of Severus’ progress. After young Severus has recovered a bit, an attack on the hospital will get me my little treasure. A double success in framing the Dark side for the attack will give me much pleasure, especially if Lord Slytherin is directly blamed for it. That would kill two birds with one stone. My little treasure will be hidden in Nurmengard, where I will enjoy breaking and taming him, until he is ready to follow my every command. Who knows, perhaps Gellert will recognise my superiority and bow to me, acknowledging me as his master. In that case, it would be quite possible that I would allow him to play with my little treasure from time to time”,_ Dumbledore thought to himself.

 

Dumbledore let out an evil laugh,  _“Severus will be your downfall. The whole world – magical and muggle – will cower at my feet. Slytherin House will be banished from Hogwarts, and all Slytherins will be enslaved or sent to work camps, while their fortunes would end up in my pockets. It will be so glorious! I will force Severus to watch Tom and his most loyal be executed and then use their blood to increase my hold on my sweet innocent treasure. You will not escape me Severus, nor will Tom be able to defeat me._ _**Nobody** _ _is better or greater that I am. I am even more incredible and powerful than Merlin. And the whole world will realise this after I have presented my pet – my shy little submissive male bearer to the world. Then I will fuck him properly, in front of them all. Really,” Dumbledore cackled madly, “Who could stop me?”_


End file.
